PJNet

Mark Tapscott, who is sitting in for Mark Glaser at MediaShift, explains how the Washington Examiner Community Action Network (WECAN) functions. He writes:

This project is barely in its infancy but is worth watching because it combines elements of citizen media and open-source journalism, with a semi-traditional daily newspaper.

After describing how the Examiner is putting government databases online, he writes that WECAN is a:

powerful force for greater transparency and accountability in local affairs, something Instapundit’s Glenn Reynolds might view as a platoon in An Army of Davids. The same principle could be applied at the state and federal levels, too.

Additionally, WECAN illustrates the truth of the maxim grassroots journalism guru Dan Gillmor first promulgated – our readers know more than we journalists do about the beats and topics we cover. A smart newspaper will see the value of harnessing multiple “stringers” for the news-gathering process.

One other thought here: Finding a way to make a newspaper a partner with civic groups throughout the community can’t help but be a good marketing tool. Of course, I’m just a reporter, so what do I know about marketing, right?

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This entry was posted on Thursday, October 5th, 2006 at 11:25 am and is filed under Citizen journalism. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.